How dogs can warn people against hypoglycemia?

November 27, 2018

Assistance dogs can warn sufferers of low blood sugar. But they do not replace the proven tools. Nevertheless, they are a soothing supplement for diabetics in therapy. Long-nosed dogs are very good for this task because they can smell very good. These include poodles, hunting dogs, collies and shepherds. In addition, these dogs must be very humane and able to form a close bond so that they are permanently on the side of the patient.

Why Dogs are the best option to choose?

Dogs are not only proverbially the best friend of humans but can also become the early warning system on four paws namely, if they are trained as a diabetes indicator dog on the specific smell of low blood sugar. Display dogs are also called seizure dogs and trained to alert people to certain signs before they enter into health-threatening situations. The display can be made by barking, nudging, licking, and paw-laying or a similar behavior which is otherwise rarely or rarely shown in everyday life. Because their dog behaves conspicuously, the diabetic noticed that something is wrong and can then test the blood sugar with the meter. Trained diabetes display dogs have a hit rate of 90-95% in the display but never replace the electronic glucose meter or the regular visit to a specialist.

How can dogs recognize low blood sugar?

Dogs have 100 times more olfactory cells per square centimeter than humans (depending on the breed 125-225 million olfactory cells, the human has about 20 million compared to humans). Thanks to their enormous nose performance the change of hormones in the blood can be noticed. They smell stereo that is they detect where the smell comes from and they can locate the lowest concentrations of an odor. In addition to the odor component, the body language of the diabetic changes in the case of hypoglycemia just as the ability to express oneself can change. And dogs are on the one hand microstate, which means living beings with a very well-developed sense of smell but on the other hand good observers who register immediately changed behavior of their caregiver.

Diabetes: Dogs sniffing low sugar

The sense of smell of dogs is far superior to yours. With their phenomenal nose Service dogs for people with Diabetes can detect buried victims, find explosives and apparently also sniff a dangerous hypoglycemia in diabetics. The hint gives them a substance that diabetics increasingly exhale in low sugar. The substance in the human breath that provides the dogs with the warning, the chemical substance could be isoprene.

Conclusion: Not every breed suitable

Not every dog ​​breed is suitable for the diabetes warning dog. If the muzzle of the animal is not well formed as in a pug the animal often has difficulty sniffing under or over sugar. On the other hand rats and cats have a good nose. It is much harder to train them to reliably tell the diabetic patient when their values ​​are no longer in order. When you do get your service dog, make sure that you feed them the absolute best dog food so that they remain happy and healthy. Check out this website to learn more about the best dog products.